Life Out Loud Results

Some folks have the house on the block where all the kids play. I have the house on the block where people send their children to find out how good their health insurance really is. Ours, I am told, is a “fun house.” Not in the literal sense of mazes and crazy mirrors (although, come […]

It is clear that despite my long-standing personal “hands off” policy toward nature, I am destined to go down in history as one of those people forever identified with a certain species of animal. Jane Goodall had her chimps. Steve Irwin had his crocodiles. Me, I have bats. Oh, I don’t want to have bats […]

My great-grandmother, Jeannette, was born in 1902 and her life would span most of the 20th century. She would see advancements in her lifetime that were unheard of at the time of her birth. Still her life, like any, would not always be easy. Tragically, she would lose her mother to tuberculosis as a child. […]

Twilight movie mega-star Robert Pattinson, asked about his equally famous hair, revealed, “I don’t have much of a sense of personal hygiene or styling … I gave up washing it a while back.” If I could bend the ear of almost any young Hollywood hunk, I wouldn’t waste my time on mundane issues like asking […]

My son, at 12, is no longer a willing wearer of a pointy party hat. He has no need for noisemakers. No yen for a piñata. We gave up goodie bags a few years ago, too. Gave up on games I gave up trying to plan party games when I realized I was pulling kids […]

I am a nice person. I get through most days fairly happy and not generally spoiling for a fight. I just want that on the record. Still, there are simply times when a person has just had enough. Lately, I’ve become aware that there are a few folks who could be helped by a primer […]

Our son, at 12, is back from the wild. He has returned from a week at Boy Scout camp. He went off with big plans, a big grin and a “Class A” uniform thrown over his shoulder. I waved good-bye until the van was just a dot in the distance. Forms The decision to send […]

Ah June — the hum of valedictory speeches is in the air and mortarboards take flight. We have been invited to celebrate this auspicious milestone with a number of high school graduates this year. Mixed feelings I imagine the parents of all these high school graduates are both thrilled and somewhat confused. Where is that […]

One of the many charming aspects of living in an old house is that you are never truly alone. Never alone Oh sure, I might be the only HUMAN at home, the dogs outside and the cat ignoring me, but I have the sense that I am never really without companions. Once or twice a […]

‘Tis June — the season when wedding invitations flourish and everyone gets busy pledging forever, in sickness, and ’til death do us part. Since there is nothing young married folk love more than unsolicited advice (unless it is the question that pops up within minutes of the ceremony: “So when are you two going to […]